


home

by 0fficiallyLeah



Series: changes [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Case Fic, Castiel in the Bunker, Hunters & Hunting, M/M, Mark of Cain, Mild Gore, Post-Episode: s10e05 Fan Fiction, Pre-Slash, Season/Series 10, reference to past seasons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2017-03-15
Packaged: 2018-10-05 14:52:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10310696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0fficiallyLeah/pseuds/0fficiallyLeah
Summary: Castiel’s face becomes pinched and his voice clipped.“Beth asked me not to tell you anything but the origin story. She believes that it’ll force you to actually speak to her if there is something you want to know.” Sam snorted. “I consider this place my home and I was tasked in helping her adjust back to life on earth. This is the safest place I know. She’s a good hunter Dean. She has good instincts. That’s all I can tell you about her, but I ask that you give her a chance. I feel like I have been frantically trying to fix my mistakes for some time now and I’d like to take some time to stay here with you and Sam. But I am in charge of her safety and if you wish her not to stay here than I’ll have to find some place for the two of us.”“Well,” Dean cleared his throat, “of course this is your home and it can be Beth’s too for as long as she needs.” He gave a small smile, which caused Castiel to beam.





	

 “Hey Cas? How’d the meeting go?”

“Hello Dean.” Dean felt his stomach clench, something was wrong.

“What is it? The chaos in Heaven not working itself out yet?”

“An important matter has been brought to my attention.” He paused, followed by a mumbled response to someone on Castiel’s side of the phone. “I would rather discuss this in person.” He said aloud, though Dean had no clue who he was speaking to.

“Yeah, okay. Sam and I are on our way to Franklin, Massachusetts for a suspected werewolf. Want to meet up there? Or you can head over to the bunker and we can talk when the hunts over.”

“Yes, I think that’d be best.”

“Okay? So the bunker then – say two, three days tops?”

“I’ll see you then.” He hung up.

Dean felt his brow scrunch up; Castiel wasn’t usually so distracted when they spoke on the phone. He returned his phone to his pocket, while keeping his eyes on the road. He was keenly aware of Sam’s gaze on his face from where he sat in the passenger seat. Dean tried to hide any signs of worry his face might give away.

“Is there a problem in Heaven?”

“I don’t know. He didn’t want to talk on the phone. It sounded like he was with someone though. He wants to discuss something in person after the hunt.”

“That doesn’t sound good. Do you think he might have to return to Heaven like the other angels? I mean everyone else has returned right? It’s really just him.” Sam shrugged like it had been a nonchalant comment. Dean felt his chest constrict and his stomach drop.

They had left the bunker in the early hours of the day and wouldn’t arrive to Franklin for several more hours to come, which incidentally left Dean with far too much time to think. He would have been fine - he always found the roads through New England to be one of his favorite drives - but Sam had to open his fat mouth. He refused to let himself believe that Castiel would actually leave them behind. Though, like most everyone else, Dean rarely listened to himself. What little of Castiel he had seen after being 'cured', for a lack of a better word, he was very aware that he was running out of grace. Maybe with the problems in Heaven squared away Castiel would choose to stay with them instead. He had wanted to hunt at one point. It would be dangerous now that he was human, but Dean wouldn't let him help unless he knew for sure he was ready. Actually, scratch that. It would be dangerous. Period. Maybe he could get Castiel a hobby? The point was that he couldn't just let him leave - especially not permanently. Ugh, he needed to think about something else, something happier-ish?

"Run down the information we have for the werewolf."

"Well there's not much. Within a month: Six girls missing. All taken while on dates. The dates were all found dead with a hole carved in their chests and their hearts missing."

"You thinking the girls are being turned? Or just take-away?"

"It wouldn't be the first time we've seen a werewolf pack."

"Okay." Dean shrugged. They would have to start talking to families and friends tomorrow. See if the girls had anything in common. 

"Okay? Dean we've got possibly twelve victims. And according to the pattern we have two day tops before there are more."

"We'll split up. You take six and I'll take six. Do the interviews. Then we can compile the info and figure out what exactly we're looking for." Dean waved his hand dismissively, already losing interest.

"Compile?" Sam snorted, but said nothing else.

The banter between them was strained. That happens when, you know, you try to kill your brother. Later, when left facing the aftermath of Kate actually having to kill her bitch of a sister, Dean realized that the small thank you he had offered Sam didn't really carry much weight. He knew that over the past they were both at fault at letting each other down, but he was beginning to feel like he was failing more often than not.

They drove all night until they reached town only stopping once for dinner and gas. The beds were lumpy and Dean couldn't get the idea of Castiel having to leave out of his head. He knew that with his borrowed grace slowly going it was possible that the angels might have found a place for him upstairs. It was a way to keep him safe, but that didn't mean Dean had to like it. Needless to say, morning came all too soon and he may have snapped a few times at some of the people he interviewed. He did come across some occult items that were definitely bad signs.

Around one he met up with Sam at the motel with lunch and found out he had come across the same things. He had also discovered that the girls had gone into Boston the weekend before the abductions began to shop. "But get this, Stephanie told her mom that they had run into a woman there who just randomly offered to buy them all lunch at a five star restaurant if they helped her carry some bags back to her hotel. Apparently, she was the one who gave them all of the occult items. Stephanie's mom said they 'gave her a bad feeling' so she made Stephanie get rid of it all. That week was when she disappeared. Seem like a coincidence?"

"No." Dean didn't like where this was going.

"Exactly, so I contacted the local sheriff and he's making a few calls to try and get us the security cam footage of the hotel. Maybe we can identify our mystery woman."

"Good thinking. I talked to Phil's brother and according to him he was working on a junker for a school project. Almost had it complete before he died, but apparently the school had a break-in the day before Stephanie vanished and Phil was murdered, and someone stole the car. As far as they knew it wasn't running, but add that to the fact that Jamie, who vanished second, her family has a cabin that's about two hours west of here. I'm thinking hideout. Maybe whatever, they're getting into - witchcraft, demon, voodoo, they need hearts? From what I've gathered none of the boys were long term boyfriends. It was Peggy's first date in months, and the boys were definitely not boyfriend material."

"I know Sharon and Brock had been dating for close to two years, but a few months ago she found out he was cheating. Everyone thought they had worked through it, but I'm not buying it."

"How bout we hang out here 'til the Sheriff calls, I need a nap, and after we check the tapes we head to the cabin. Cover of dark; shouldn't see us coming?"

"Sounds good. Oh, Cas called. Asked how you were feeling. Probably knew you'd lie to him." Sam chuckled. "Anyway, I missed it, so it was just a voicemail. Maybe you should call him before you sleep. I'm going to go check out the library, do some research on the stuff the woman gave them."

Cas didn't answer. Dean couldn't sleep. He could use a couple of glasses of whiskey to stop the dread building in his chest, but he didn't want to risk it.

He really hated witches.

 

††††

 

After not managing to sleep, again, Dean got the call from Sam telling him to meet at the police station. It turned out to be some red headed broad on the video with the girls, but no one anyone recognized. Sam didn't bother trying to sell the Sheriff any story. The woman probably was a witch, but she was also probably long gone. They just needed to give the department their own witch hunt, pun intended, while they did their own thing. Dean knew they couldn't guarantee that they would be bringing all the girls home. Depending on what they were doing - human organs made powerful magic.

At about six they left and headed to the cabin. Dean still wasn't able to get a hold of Castiel and the fear of him having to leave Dean began to creep back into his mind no matter how hard he tried to shove it out. It turns out they didn't exactly have the advantage they thought they were going to have, in that - not one at all. Apparently one of the items Stephanie had taken with her was a grimoire. Because, or maybe despite, her inexperience, she had managed to take the lives of Maria and Nickie, before turning Sharon into some kind of twisted monster who was in more pain than actually dangerous. Dean had no choice but to shoot her. That left Jamie and Stephanie. From what Dean could tell, they had managed to correct their mistakes with Sharon and had enhanced their senses as well as speed and strength while staying human.

They had heard the Impala coming before the cabin was even in view. The girls had ambushed them as soon as they entered the cabin, Dean was able to put what was left of Sharon out of her misery, before he and Sam were pushed back to back as the girls circled. As Stephanie gave a morbid account of the last month and how they had eaten the hearts to grant even more power from the magic, Dean began to notice that Jamie wasn't as well as she tried to pretend to be. She began to foam at the mouth and he could see her pupils were blown wide. She broke away from them and attacked Sharon's lifeless form before eating her heart. Stephanie watched out of shock and he and Sam took the chance to attack her while she was distracted. The struggle had Jamie's head snapping in their direction and Dean quickly shot her without a second thought.

Stephanie seemed to be more or less playing with Sam than actually fighting, but she couldn't tell that he was lining her up for Dean to take the shot. Right as he had her in his sights, his phone rang. His stomach dropped when he realized he had forgotten to put it back on silent after hoping Castiel would call him right back. The noise caused Stephanie to go crazy. She launched at Sam before more or less throwing him out of the Cabin through the wall and then turned her attention on Dean. She moved before he could get a shot off, and the struggle had them tumbling out of a window into the woods behind the cabin. Dean managed to get a shot off and hit her through the thigh before she decided she rather make a run for it than fight him. He pointedly ignored that it happened after she accidentally touched the mark on his arm. He chased her as best he could, but other than a couple of shots that definitely clipped her, he couldn't keep up. He turned and ran back to check on Sam.

“Okay. I lost her in the woods - she was too fast. What about you? What hurts?”

“Dammit Dean! Everything!” Sam yelled when he started to move him to the car.

“Right.” Dean searched his pockets for his phone, “My phone must’ve fallen out when I got tackled.” Bitch face #6 was Sam’s response. “Look, just lie there, and I’ll go find it.”

“Sure, because what else would I do with A COMPLETELY SHATTERED LEFT SIDE.” Sam hissed at his brother’s retreating form.

“I have to call Cas!” Dean shouted back. “Cas,”

“Dean, bring Sam back to the bunker and I can heal him.”

“How did you know Sam was hurt?”

“I had my ears on.” Dean heard the smile in the angel’s voice. “He may have had an intense longing that you would stop being distracted before you got one of you killed. Has the mark flared up again? His prayer seemed to imply you needed to tell me something?”

“Uh, no. I mean, I don’t think so. Look I’m a little distracted right now.”

“Of course. Like I said, I can heal Sam here at the bunker.”

“No, you can’t waste your mojo. I’m taking him to the hospital and I’ll let you know when we are back on the road.” Dean was trying to locate the painkillers they usually kept in the glove box. “I thought we got rid of this stupid contraption.” He mumbled as he tossed the IPod player set up into the backseat before remembering Sam. Eyes wide he looked in the rearview mirror – bitch face #13. “Sorry.” Dean mouthed with an exaggerated frown.

“Dean, did you hear me?” Castiel spoke louder.

“No, just a sec.” Dean finally located the pills, and quickly passed back two. “Okay, say that again?”

“I said that I got my grace back. My original grace. I’m still not at full power yet, but I can mend him enough to keep him out of the hospital.”

“You didn’t think that might’ve been something to mention when we talked yesterday?”

“Will you drive the damn car?!” The pain, apparently, trumping Sam’s patience.

“Cas got his damned mojo back and didn’t feel the need to share that information with the class.” Dean responded just as annoyed back at him. “I’ll see you at the bunker.” He hung up on Castiel and finally started the car.

“Look, man, your right,” Dean uncomfortable with the silence and the empty seat beside him. “I was supposed to watch your six, and I was distracted. You have every right to be pissy. I mean I know I would be if I was almost crushed to death by a house, or I mean, half crushed to death?” Dean gestured back at him. “You just, I, I’m sorry is what I mean, I guess.” He winced at how pathetic that had sounded, but he decide to drop it and let Sam rest.

“I never said that.” Or not?

“What?”

“I never said, out loud, that you were distracted. Don’t get me wrong, I was definitely thinking it, but,” Sam trailed off.

“Yeah, well, apparently you thought about it hard enough to get Cas’ attention. He asked if I had something I needed to tell him.” He shot Sam his own bitch face.

“Oh.” Sam chuckled, already sounding sleepy from the medicine. “Sorry. Next time I’m pissy, I’ll try to keep your boyfriend out of it.”

“Seriously dude, the play was like a month ago. Give the Destiel jokes a break.”

Sam snored in response.

 

††††

 

“Hey Cas, you want to come zap Sam so I can get him into the bunker with the least amount of pain as possible.”

“Of course.” Castiel followed him outside, “I’m sorry too, about not mentioning my grace. There was a more pressing matter that I was trying to decide on how to tell you and Sam, that it slipped my mind.” He tapped Sam’s forehead before following the Winchesters back inside, Dean still insistent on supporting Sam.

“Cas, if you’re stressed about it, just tell us already.” Sam spoke while trying to shove off Dean’s hands.

However, Dean heard the thinly concealed wince still in his force and refused to budge. Before an argument could start, a new person entered the room from the kitchen.

“Oh, you’re back. Thanks for the heads up Castiel.” She was a young, petite brunette who, most importantly, was no one that either of the Winchester’s recognized.

“Sam, Dean, this is, uh, Beth.” She raised her beer at the men, “She is the matter that needs to be discussed.” Castiel shuffled awkwardly from his place beside Dean.

“How ‘bout we get Sam to his room so he can rest? Cas.” Dean’s voice tight in his throat.

He heard the angel follow behind him as they headed to Sam’s room; a tense silence surrounding them. Dean was trying hard to remember that he trusted Cas, but the fact that there was a stranger in his home and Castiel had just come back from Heaven, which as far as track records go was only helping to increase Dean’s feeling of panic, was making the silence deafening. He knew Castiel had never and would never intentionally put him in danger, but that didn’t mean that Dean had to trust Beth – even if Castiel did.

“Dude, relax.” Sam mumbled. Dean felt like he was suddenly running on autopilot while his mind was on overdrive. “Hey, just hear him out.”

“I can explain Dean.”

“I’m having a hard time not focusing on the fact that there is a stranger sitting at my table, drinking my beer, in my home. This is a SECRET bunker. How hard is that?”

“Metatron caused more damage than anyone was aware.” Castiel rushed out, “He saw all the angels as the same, easy to manipulate, and similarly he saw the humans, more specifically hunters as all the same. You two stopped the apocalypse, stopped Michael and Lucifer, but he didn’t see that you were anomalies.” Castiel’s face becomes pinched and his voice clipped. “Instead, he placed you and all hunters into their own subgroup. He then picked souls from their heavens and tortured them for information. Beth is one of those souls. She held out the longest and was actually still imprisoned when we regained control. She was a hunter who died young and had lost almost everything because of the angels. Hannah offered to return her to earth.” He seemed conflicted, unsure if he agreed with the decision or not. “That isn’t her original body, none of my brothers or sisters are able to give that back to her. I assume that the situation is similar to when Ruby came back the second time. Her soul was placed into a recently vacated body. Though that is the age she would’ve been had she not died.”

“How old is that?” There was a feeling, a phantom scratch in his mind, something that he couldn’t quite get to but he knew was important.

“Beth asked me not to tell you anything but the origin story. She believes that it’ll force you to actually speak to her if there is something you want to know.” Sam snorted. “I consider this place my home and I was tasked in helping her adjust back to life on earth. This is the safest place I know. She’s a good hunter Dean. She has good instincts. That’s all I can tell you about her, but I ask that you give her a chance. I feel like I have been frantically trying to fix my mistakes for some time now and I’d like to take some time to stay here with you and Sam. But I am in charge of her safety and if you wish her not to stay here than I’ll have to find some place for the two of us.”

Metatron was a douche. And after having to turn Castiel away when he needed Dean the most because of ‘Zeke’, Dean had promised himself that he would never force Castiel out again. Which now means he has to accept Beth as well. It wasn’t like he and Sam couldn’t relate with her on the whole being a tortured soul thing, but it seemed like forever since he had spent any quality time with a woman, other than Jody who'd become like a mom. He supposed there had been Meg, but she was always a come and go kind of girl. Sam had spent a year with that one chick, he never bothered to remember her name, and then there was the year he had spent with Lisa and Ben. Lisa had at least known about the supernatural world but it wasn’t the same as being around someone who he could actually relate too. The two times he had seen Krissy she was still just a kid, and the only other women who he had let into his life he refused to think about right now.

“What about your grace?” Sam asked in the wake of Dean’s silence.

“Beth was able to give the angels new information which led us stumbling upon it among other things Metatron had tried to hide. It will still take a few day for it to fully repower, but because it is my original grace it won’t run out.”

“Well,” Dean cleared his throat, “that’s great Cas. And of course this is your home and it can be Beth’s too for as long as she needs.” He gave a small smile, which caused Castiel to beam. “Alright, how about we let Sam rest, just ‘cause his bones are mended doesn’t mean he isn’t still hurt, and then you and I can pick out rooms for you and Beth, make it official.” Castiel’s smile grew impossibly wider.

 

††††

 

"Judging by the quietness, I'm guessing that I'm allowed to stay." Beth spoke as she flipped the page of the newspaper she was reading. "I made extra peanut butter crackers. Figured you'd be hungry when you got back. They're in the kitchen." Dean wasn't sure how she had heard him or Castiel standing in the hallway.

"Great, uh, thanks. How bout I grab you another beer and we can make sure we're on the same page."

"Sure, if you don't mind." Dean shrugged when she glanced at him.

"The next six can be on you." He smirked. "Cas, you want anything?" He looked back at the angel to find him watching them with a fond look. And that was not going to fly. If there was one thing that Dean had realized when having his 'humanity' being shoved back into him by a syringe full of blood and his brother, was that he was getting to old for this shit. And he was tired of telling himself that the gnawing worry he felt whenever it's been to long since he last heard from Castiel, or the blinding panic that overtook his life whenever he was faced with the possibility of Castiel being dead didn't happen because he was best friend, but because he was in love with him. And if Castiel, angel of the Lord, had any ideas of playing match maker with Dean and Beth, than he was sorely mistaken. As a counter measure, he was now making it his personal mission to set up Sam with Beth. She had already died once, which made her the ideal mate for someone with Sam's track record. He just needed to get to know her first to make sure she was on the up and up.

"So, what killed you?" Dean asked as he handed over the beer. He silently noted that Castiel had disappeared.

"You did." She smiled big as he choked on his drink. "No, I'm just messing with you. I was just one of the hunters who pulled the short straw on the whole stopping Lucifer and the apocalypse thing."

"You seem awful young to have to be pulling those kinds of straws." He could have used a heads up. A warning that he and his brother had been the reason she had died to begin with. "I thought it had been more recent." Dean said for the lack of anything better.

"Nah, a few years, but you don't have to sleep with one eye open, I don't blame you or anything. A hunter upstairs had somehow managed to gather up all of us and kind of gave us the whole story and then once a week gave us updates from his Enochian decipher."

"Ash?"

"Yea, didn't know if you remembered him. We met a couple of times, but he said you and Sam never remembered being up there."

"Have we been back since Sam stopped the apocalypse?"

"No, and a good thing too. They only kept bringing you back for Michael and Lucifer. We were all sure that the next death would be the end of you, well until you went and got that ugly thing." She gestured to the mark. "Ash and I were about to start working on research for it when Metatron interfered. I never got to go back to see him." She seemed to get lost in her thoughts.

"Well it might've been stupid, but it's not like I had a lot of options. Abaddon had to be stopped." He said just trying to draw her back to the present. She rolled her eyes.

"Right, well since I doubt you'll be letting me on a hunt anytime soon, I'll start working on researching information about the mark. Ash taught me a lot that I should be able to use down here too. Between that and getting this place into better order, I'll keep out of your hair." Her smirk could rival his own.

"By all means, make yourself at home." And Dean found himself actually meaning it.

 


End file.
